


SUPER SQUAD! (And something else...)

by dayleeryant



Category: Legacies (TV 2018)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Boy Band, Band Fic, F/F, F/M, Girl Band
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-08
Updated: 2021-01-13
Packaged: 2021-03-09 19:53:48
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 4
Words: 8,173
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27951884
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dayleeryant/pseuds/dayleeryant
Summary: And there was Hope, in the middle of a long line waiting for her opportunity, for her turn to try to achieve her dreams, and around her, thousands of more people waiting for the same thing, for a chance.
Relationships: Hope Mikaelson/Josie Saltzman, Milton "MG" Greasley/Lizzie Saltzman
Comments: 6
Kudos: 32





	1. An opportunity

**Author's Note:**

> I don't wanna tell you the main topic bc I wanna you guess it meanwhile you're reading so, let's go!  
> (I have the Spanish traduction here if you wanna read it in that language: https://my.w.tt/C8M5fasC2bb )

And there was Hope, in the middle of a long line waiting for her opportunity, for her turn to try to achieve her dreams, and around her, thousands of more people waiting for the same thing, for a chance.

There were more rows next to her, where she assumed the duets and groups would be, she was in the other one, in one of the soloists under an attenuating sun that made the wait more difficult.

"I should have brought a cap or umbrella" she thought as she tried to look at the sun. At least she had her water, she thought. 

While she was taking a sip, she started to detail the rows around her and some girls in particular caught her attention, some tall girls, a blonde and a brunette, looked happy but nervous, talking and holding hands between them while they also waited for their turn, the brunette unconsciously bit her lip while the other one commented on something and Hope found that gesture cute.

For a moment, Hope felt that the brunette was noticing her, so a little scared, she quickly looked away and now she looked at the other row, the one with the groups, and some kids caught her attention.  
First, she noticed the tall brown boy, he looked familiar, so she detailed him while he was talking to the other 2 boys and she noticed him, he was Rafael, a classmate of hers and she found him curious, she never imagined that she would see him there to participate in that contest, although to be honest, she didn't know him very well so it was okay; Next to him, there were two other boys that she didn't know, one was tall, short hair and a little bit tanned, he looked athletic, thought Hope and finally a boy a little bit shorter than them, black, a good hairstyle and looked radiant, she thought that with him you could have a great conversation.

-Maybe I'll ask Rafael about them at some point," thought Hope as she watched them and didn't realize the line had already advanced, so surprised she ran to reach her position again.

After a few minutes her nerves were beginning to get a little stronger, she was close to her turn to finally participate until there were only a few people left before her, she looked to her sides again, but the other two rows were no longer visible because they would be directed to other rooms so there would be no interference with the sound she thought.

Finally, it was Hope's turn, she stood in front of the jury, introduced herself, they asked some general questions about her life and finally one said, "You can tell me what you are going to sing and start" by staring at her. Hope told them and before beginning, she closed her eyes for a moment, took a breath and began.

At the end, the jury thanked her and told her she could go to the room and wait for the results, Hope nodded and went over there. That was the hardest part, waiting, wondering if she would make it or if that would be the end for her. To try to kill some time, she started to observe the people in the room with her, as she walked around with her eyes, laughed softly and thought, "what a coincidence! telling herself, because she spotted Rafael in a corner with his friends, whom she no longer saw as relaxed as before and not far from them she saw the other 2 girls who caught her attention in line, the blonde one shedding some little tears and the brunette one trying to relax her thought Hope, since they had not yet given the results to any soloist, duet or group so there was no reason to make any assumptions yet.

After a while, a girl came out with a plank, called the room to order and said "Well guys, after all the judges met to discuss their final decision, then I will read the participants who make it to the next round according to their category, those I called, will be placed by category at the side of the room please" and that's how Hope started to hear the names of the soloists, duets and groups until she went down to the floor when she didn't hear her name, she was already retiring a bit angry and sad when suddenly, before leaving the room, she heard a big scream from the same girl saying "One moment please! , I have just been given another list, so please call the people you call on the other side of the room. Something in Hope lit up inside her and she thought - well! hope is the last thing you lose - and smiled silently because of the irony of that phrase and at the same time, hopefully she looked at the girl and started to hear different names, the funny thing is that now they were calling both soloists and duets and groups at the same time and she didn't understand why but it was the least of her worries, she wanted to be called no matter what. 

While reading the names, she heard "The Forbes twins! " she found the name very curious and when she looked at who it was, she saw that they were the girls she had noticed before and she was happy because she saw them jumping and hugging each other with joy, which she found adorable and calmed her nerves a little; She kept hearing more and then she heard "Vamp wolves" and she saw Rafael with his friends hugging and jumping, despite how funny the name seemed to her, and already when they were about to say the last name, Hope felt that everything stopped for a second, even though she could hear her heart beating and inside she was begging for that last name was her, until finally, the girl looked at the leftovers and said "Hope Mikaelson! ”.

Hope couldn't believe it, actually she did, but she was very amazed that they actually called her, even she didn't know exactly what would happen because it was a separate list, she would surely have a new opportunity as it was possible and that already filled her heart. She got closer and for the first time, her look with the brunette that had called her attention crossed and she smiled to her until she heard a scream close that called her in a tone of surprise: "Hope!?", Hope smiled back at the girl and went straight to where she was called, it was Rafael of course, nobody else knew her there and she thought - Well, I'll meet the guys now - until she got closer.

"Hey Hope, I didn't expect to see you here," Rafael said in surprise.

"I certainly didn't expect to see you here either," Hope looked back at him, and at his other friends.

“Yes, well, don't we talk a lot or do we?" Rafael smiled sarcastically at her and realized that Hope was waiting for him to introduce her to his friends. "This is MG and Jed," he points out and then turns to them. 

"Hi Hope, nice to meet you" says a smiling MG.

"We also go to the same school, but we don't share any classes," complements Jed.

Hope smiles at them and since she can see them up close, she thinks that MG seems very friendly and Jed is athletic, proving his first impression theory for now.

After a while, while Hope was talking with the boys about school stuff mainly, the soloists, duets, and groups had already entered and the girl who had called them before approached the big group and said "Okay guys, come with me", and without saying more, she directed them to a room at the end of the hall, Hope followed her like everybody else and without noticing at any moment, a brunette girl named Josie had been watching her out sideways all that time while she was talking with the boys all that time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's my first hosie fic, let me know if you like it to continue, I have some ideas to do it a long history


	2. Mix Band

When she entered that other room, Josie couldn't stop feeling nervous no matter how much she was trying to look relaxed outside, she thought that everybody should be feeling like her although they didn't show it either, especially that girl that she had found nice and she couldn't stop looking at her since she met her as soon as she was named, Hope, she couldn't forget her name because to tell the truth, it was very beautiful and unique, impossible to forget it or to forget her.

They were ordered to stand in a line looking at the judges to hear why they had been called apart from the other participants, so they stood next to each other and when they were organized, one of the judges started to order them to group together in a certain way, Josie didn't understand why and her sister had no idea either because of her expression on her face when she looked at her to get some kind of explanation until finally he said: ""Vamp wolves", go next to "The Forbes twins", the boys approached them a little confused but excited and greeted each other with a smile so as not to interrupt the judge, "and finally, Hope Mikaelson, approach them 5 too". A spark of emotion lit up in Josie when the judge said it, she still didn't know what would happen but it would involve meeting the girl who caught her attention, so she thought it couldn't be anything bad; she smiled again and waved when she approached, noticing that Hope was waving back with that smile she had done before in the previous room.

Once they were all reorganized as the judge had ordered, he said: "We could not leave out people as talented as you so in common agreement, we decided to regroup you so that you could complete the quota of the groups and be part of this competition, welcome!

The happiness that Josie felt was unspeakable, she couldn't believe that they had made it and at the moment they were given the news, they couldn't avoid, even without really knowing each other, jumping and make a group hug of happiness and celebrate, she swears that Lizzie's eyes were watered from the emotion just like her.

"Well guys, I hope you get to know each other as soon as possible because it is a competition and we will continue soon to the next stages, see you in 3 days for the next round in the place I chose in New Orleans, by the way my name is Emma and I will be your mentor in this competition, you will get to know the other judges as the competition progresses, prepare everything because tomorrow you will go out there".

Without further ado, the judges gave the order to everyone to leave and they all went out to the great hall still jumping from happiness, once there, MG called them all to meet before leaving the place.

"I can't believe this is happening," MG said euphorically.

"Neither can I! It's incredible!" Rafael added.

"Neither can we," said the twins in unison, to top it off.

"Did you notice that there has never been a mix band in the competition? This is weird but interesting," said Hope looking at them all.

"It's true, it's always just guys or girls bands, it's weird that this happens, maybe they want something new and we can't disappoint" said Jed.

They were all a little thoughtful but immediately, Lizzie broke down the tension that was being created.

"Yes but for that, we must begin as it should be, let's introduce ourselves and keep our numbers, so we can continue talking these days without problem, although as far as I noticed, you already know each other ..." she said looking at the boys and Hope.

"We all go to the same school, actually I only know Rafael because I have classes with him, I just met MG and Jed too and guess, I don't need to introduce myself, you have already heard my name several times..." added Hope.

"So, you're Rafael, you're MG and you're Jed," said Josie looking at each one as she named them, having paid close attention to Hope clearly as she was able to appreciate the girl more closely by having her now up close, she definitely couldn't deny how beautiful she was. They affirmed and Josie continued "Well, my name is Josie, this is my sister Lizzie" 

"Pleasure," MG said, looking specifically at Lizzie as he said it, to which Lizzie responded with a smile.

After everyone saved their numbers, Josie, as the dedicated and organized student she is, volunteered to create the group, wanted to make sure everything went smoothly from the beginning.

"Well, I'll see you guys tomorrow," said Rafael, waving goodbye to the girls as they walked away.

"Yes, goodbye", said Hope, looking at the boys and then at the twins, giving Josie another smile that wouldn't stop looking at her, and although she would think it was weird, she liked it because she also felt that she couldn't stop looking at her so she didn't feel bad about doing it too.

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Okaaayyy, so do you like Hope!?"A curious Lizzie throws it to a thoughtful (thinking in Hope) Josie as they return home to prepare everything and tell her mother everything that has happened.

"What?! What are you saying?, I just met her Lizzie!" Josie defended herself with a flush, she thought, hoping it wouldn't really show.

"But I could see that you were looking at her and she was looking at you too by the way..."

-Would be true!?- thought Josie inside herself a little excited.

"And MG, Lizzie? I noticed how you looked at him too and how he smiled at you and everything" added Josie to avoid future questions.

Lizzie looked away to hide her blushing just as Caroline opened the door for them.

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The guys were talking a little bit through messages to get to know each other better in the little time they had as they packed and got ready, they talked about trivial things like what things they liked, colors, animals, food, etc., clearly Josie was trying to memorize the things that Hope liked above those others and Hope in her bed, was doing the same with Josie's things smiling at her phone without being able to avoid it, thinking about how all those things made Hope's interest in Josie only increase while Lizzie, also paid attention to some in particular, to MG's things and he was doing the same for hers, if they looked a little silly looking at their phones, no one was going to admit it clearly, but this was the beginning of everything, of something else.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey folks, this will be my last update for now bc tomorrow my arm will be operated so asap I can write again I will, hope could be this month, thanks for the support :)


	3. SUPER SQUAD!

Hope got on the bus and found it almost full, only the back row was empty and besides that, no sign of Josie, she also saw Rafael and Jed talking in a nearby chair, she greeted them and proceeded to sit by the window as she liked to feel the fresh air and also to watch if Josie arrived, that in itself they were already a little late, thought Hope, although she also noticed that MG was missing and wondered what had happened, so she decided to look at the group's chat in case they had said something but she didn't see any message, so she went over to the guys to ask them.

"Hey guys, sorry to interrupt you, do you know anything about MG and the twins?" asked Hope casually putting MG first so as not to sound suspicious, but thinking about it, why should she sound suspicious, well, she was already delirious.

"MG told me he'd have something to do before he came, so maybe that's why he hasn't arrived yet, and I don't know anything about the girls. Said Rafael

"Yeah, no idea, hopefully they're all on their way because we're about to leave," added Jed.

"Ok thanks, I'll write to the group anyway to let them know we're about to leave" said Hope and took a seat again, a little worried because they weren't arriving and she didn't want them to have a problem just starting and she was thinking about if something bad had happened to them, to Josie for example, and it made her feel an emptiness in her stomach just thinking about it. -Okay, why do I care so much if I just met her? What's wrong with me? She thought Hope to herself.

*We're coming, we're going with MG* Josie responds to Hope's message which reassures her but also makes her wonder why they're coming with MG, were they so close then? -Hope thinks- -What now, are you jealous? focus Hope!, you're about to start the most important contest of your life and you're thinking about how you're relating?

After a while, she manages to see Josie, Lizzie and MG from the window just as they were about to close the bus doors.

"Wait a minute, there are 3 competitors missing, here they come" Announces Hope so they don't close the doors.

As soon as they come up, Hope notices that they were running because everyone's cheeks were a little red and they look a little exhausted, she thinks that Josie looks very pretty blushing and while she is absorbed in her thoughts seeing her, she sees how she sits next to her and feels some nerves that she didn't expect, she thought that MG would sit next to her since she assumed that the twins would sit together but she noticed how Lizzie and MG were having a conversation, so maybe that's why Josie decided not to interrupt and sit next to her. And so as not to be obvious or rude and not to make this uncomfortable, Hope decided to talk.

"You're just in time," Hope said, seeing a Josie who was still catching her breath.

"Yes, Lizzie forgot something when we had already left, so we turned around and were late," said Josie somewhat embarrassed looking at the front seat. She felt bad that she was almost late and didn't know what Hope meant by that expression so she decided not to stare at her so she wouldn't be intimidated by those blue eyes that were so catchy.

"Well, the important thing is that you are already here so everything will be fine" said Hope as kindly as possible so that Josie would look at her, she wanted to see those brown eyes that she liked so much, she thought that she had never seen eyes and a look like Josie's before, Josie looked at her finally and gave her a smile that made her smile back. Not knowing what else to say, besides the fact that Josie didn't seem to want to add anything, Hope decided to ask about MG. "I see you are all getting to know each other better" she said looking at Lizzie and MG, Josie made a somewhat confused face and saw where Hope was looking and understood what she meant.

"Yes well, when we were on our way, we met him, he is very friendly and cheerful, that avoided Lizzie and I to keep arguing because of the delay with which we were coming"

"I understand, I also don't like to be late to where I need to go" Hope supplement

"Well, the trip will be a bit long, we can talk if you want about music, which is why we are here after all, or do you want to rest or something like that and I better not bother you" said Hope somewhat uneasy because she didn't want to feel or make her feel uncomfortable.

"No no, it's okay, let's talk about music, we could start with how we started singing, if you want I'll start" said Josie hastily because she felt the same as Hope and didn't want to stop talking to her, her voice seemed very nice to her, she could already imagine how it would be when she heard her sing.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Once they arrived, Emma was already waiting for them at the front door, she welcomed them and invited them to an enjoyable afternoon before really starting the competition, a swimming, music and food afternoon, the guys were surprised but encouraged, showed them their rooms and told them they were waiting for them there. The girls stayed together in a room just like the boys but their rooms were adjacent, everyone started to get ready and they were arriving at the pool, the first ones to arrive were MG, Hope and Rafael, who were already having a lively conversation near the pool while waiting for the others and Hope managed to see that Josie was right, MG was very kind and happy, so it was easy to talk to him and while he was laughing at a joke from Rafael, She turned to look at the entrance and saw that the twins were coming with Jed also talking but she couldn't believe how beautiful Josie looked, she had a yellow two-piece bathing dress that made her look, according to Hope, a real goddess, at one point Hope was startled when she felt Josie's look on her, she blushed and quickly turned to look at the boys hoping that Josie hadn't noticed how she looked at her and how she had blushed.

"This way guys!" shouted MG signaling them to come closer, they came and started to talk, play, eat and swim until the night, having as much fun as possible because it would be the last distraction they would have in a long time. Among everything, Hope and Josie looked at each other carefully just like Lizzie and MG did, all of them trying not to be too obvious and following the game and the dynamics of the group as if it were nothing, they also played with the other groups for a while in the pool until each group started to leave.

The girls and boys went to their rooms to dress up and go to rest since the next morning they would start rehearsals for the first presentation and they had to be ready. When they were ready to go to sleep, they talked for a while until they went to sleep and while Hope went to sleep, she thought about random things like how it was possible that Emma had so many beds for everyone, since they each had their own bed and she imagined that everyone had their own bed as well, She remembered the games and how she laughed that afternoon in the pool with the kids and how she couldn't stop seeing Josie even if she tried, everything seemed beautiful to her, her laughter, her eyes, her hair, her body... she shook her head to get those thoughts out of her mind, she didn't even know if she was getting attention to her too and besides, they were here to compete, not to fall in love, that's what Hope thought.

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The next morning they have their breakfast and meet again to officially start this new phase of the competition.

"Good morning everyone, I hope you had a great time yesterday and are ready to start this new phase of the competition, time is short so you must concentrate to give your best and keep moving forward on this path, you have 2 days to prepare your next presentation, I hope you have already met each other because the challenge is higher in your case, I wish you good luck and see you soon" said an excited and happy Emma to everyone and then leave.

Clearly, there was high tension in the room because of the nerves but everyone got going, the kids sat on the grass outside the house in a circle, away from the other groups so as not to have any interruptions.

"Okay, this is where it all starts" Josie says a little nervously looking at them all and they nod.

"Well, let's sum things up, we all sing and we all like pop, R&B and hip hop in general," says Hope as she watches everyone nod.

"Great, then it is clear that we will follow that line, now we must know our vocal range to think about which part we will sing when we choose the song, I am a soprano" continues Hope.

"Me too!" Josie says, surprised and encouraged to have the same rank as Hope.

"I mezzo" says Lizzie.

"I tenor," says Jed.

"I baritone," says MG.

"And I bass," says Rafael.

"Wow, we could make arrangements to do choruses in some parts on the main voices to make it more harmonic too" proposes Lizzie

"Yes, it's a good idea" says MG 

"We should sing a part of a song to begin to identify our voices, I'll start" says Rafael excitedly.

Hope was already dying to hear Josie's voice, she dreamed that it would be as beautiful as she is; she recognized that everyone had a very good voice and finally when it was Josie's turn, she was enthralled by her voice, her imagination was not enough to get close to an idea of how she sang, she broke all her expectations and she felt that she could not close her mouth from the surprise until Josie looked at her just when she finished and Hope quickly shook her head feeling a blush because Josie realized. Now it was her turn, but she felt nervous in front of Josie with that voice that had seemed so incredible to her, so she closed her eyes to relax, took a big breath and started singing with her eyes closed, hoping inside that Josie would like her voice too and obviously the others as well. When she finished and opened her eyes, the first thing she saw was Josie staring at her just as she had done and smiling because she thought she had indeed liked it, so her doubts were completely dispelled at last. To tell the truth, Hope thought, since they had the same vocal range, they would surely sing some parts together and that excited her a lot, she would have to spend more time with her and just thinking about it, she felt happy already.

"Okay great, we'll win this!" said MG very animatedly.

"What about the name, what will we call ourselves, do you have any ideas?" Jed was saying a bit thoughtful.

"I really have no idea," said Rafael.

"G&B?" proposed Jed

"6 note?" said Lizzie

They were proposing names randomly until MG said "Super Squad!" very animated, saw the expression of the others and none of them disliked it so they finally opted for that name after so much rambling.

"Well, I propose that we should sing a very melodic and harmonic song to begin with and thus bring out the potential of our voices and be able to make choruses" said Jed

"Just now Open Arms by PRETTYMUCH came to mind, it has a chorus, it's a little bit acapella but it's still pop and it could highlight our voices very well as it doesn't have so many instruments" suggested Josie. ( https://youtu.be/AN6AACA1K7k )

"I think it's a good idea" said Hope.

"Yes, it's good to start with" said MG

"Lizzie and the others nod their heads in agreement.

"Okay, let's divide up the main voices and get started.

So they start rehearsing together for the rest of the time, taking some breaks between each rehearsal so as not to fatigue the voice, and when they think they have it, each lead voice starts emphasizing their part on their own to improve and finally be ready for their performance, doing one last dress rehearsal before they start calling them in a few hours.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me know if you wanna know who sings each part of the song or if I don't emphasize that much and continue with the story, hope update soon, thanks for read, it has been difficult update for my surgery, I'm in the recovery now so I'm doing the best I can, see you soon


	4. Open Arms

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chap is longer than the others but i think you'll really like it, thanks for the wait, hope see you soon again

With all the groups in the room waiting for the time to start calling them, Hope looks at Josie in the distance, who is near a corner of the room, observes that she looks a little nervous and since the other members of the group are talking to each other, she decides to come closer.

"Hey Josie, are you okay?" Hope asks somewhat hesitant keeping her distance, not sure if Josie wants company.

"Yes yes, everything's fine," Josie says absentmindedly holding her hands and moving them around trying to calm down. Josie's movement doesn't go unnoticed, so she tries something else.

"Let me show you something," Hope says and starts walking to one of the nearby exits that points to a part of the garden of the house.

"But we shouldn't go out, maybe they can call us and we won't listen," says Josie, doubting whether to follow Hope or not, but at least she is managing to start distracting her to think about something else than her nerves.

Hope checks the time on her phone and confidently tells Josie "It won't take us more than a minute, come on" insists Hope and Josie after looking around at the others, finally decides to follow Hope.

As she stepped out into the garden and took a few steps to the left, Josie couldn't believe her eyes.

"They are beautiful! How did you find them?" Josie said, looking at each color in wonder and how they were so radiant.

"Earlier, I wanted to take a look at what we hadn't seen of the house and I came across this, so I thought that if it helped me, it would help you."

Josie had already bent down to be able to appreciate more closely and touch the petals of some of the flowers that were there "You know, sunflowers are my favorite, I love their color, I feel that they transmit joy and calm to me". Josie stands up and looks at Hope's eyes "Thank you Hope, I feel much better now" said the latter shyly already looking away.

"Don't worry, it's a pleasure to do it" Hope smiled warmly at her to transmit more confidence and counting this moment in her mind as her first victory for being able to help her, she really couldn't stop thinking about Josie.

Josie blushes a little and stays looking intently into Hope's eyes again, it was incredible how she lost herself in them "We should go back" she says being aware that she has been staring at her for a long time and doesn't want to make her feel uncomfortable or herself either.

"Yes, sure, let's go" Reacts Hope after Josie speaks and starts walking to the room again.

\---------

"Where were you two?! We're the seconds, the first group is coming in!" Lizzie says exasperated because she had no idea where they had gone after looking all over the room trying to find them.

"Oh, okay, we're here now, everything's fine, okay?" Hope says somewhat annoyed at being scolded by someone she's known up to now, feeling a little attacked and always she tends to get defensive.

Josie only looked at her sister as begging her to calm down because she didn't want to feel nervous again.

"Alright guys, we're going to do great, we've rehearsed enough and I really feel that there is very good chemistry between us so, I don't know, we should do a little rod to raise the spirits" MG said to end the situation and elbowing Rafael to support him with the rod while he already had one hand extended in front of him so everyone could put their hands on it.

Rafael looks at him a little unhappy but he doesn't want to ruin the moment so he plays along with MG "Okay here we go".He puts his hand over Mg's and so on, all not very sure, they join in.

"Super Squad!" shouts finally Mg to finish the action and everyone looks at him as surprised and a little uncomfortable because surely the other groups heard them.

"Okay, we can't do this in front of everyone, Mg, we have to be more discreet next time" says Jed seeing Mg a little serious but not angry because he thought it was good to do it anyway.

"I agree," adds Hope a bit uncomfortable but without really being affected, she loves to keep her emotions in check.

"Okay, group number 2, keep going," says one of the logistics workers to they go out to the part of the courtyard where they will sing in front of Emma and another judge who accompanies her as support.

"Well, here we go," Rafael says more to himself than to anyone else, and they head off to the site.

\---------

"Well, welcome back guys, this is Scott, he will be helping me in this phase of the contest" says Emma and Scott immediately greets them.

"I wish you all the best, and have you already chosen a name for the group?

"Yes", Hope takes the lead, is completely determined to be the leader of the group, feels she has what it takes and wants to show it, even though they clearly didn't talk about that role in the group. "Super Squad".

"Great, that sounds creative to me, why did they choose that?" says a curious Emma and trying to be nice before she actually starts to evaluate them.

Hope didn't have a clear answer in particular so she looked at Mg hoping he would respond in the best way because he came up with it.

"Well, we're a mixed group, which is new but also makes us different and strong, and that's what the squads are, united and trust each other - that's how we got the name."

Certainly, Hope thought that Mg was going to mention the superheroes which is really where she is sure he took the name from, but she was very pleased with the seriousness with which he took that question.

"Excellent, and what song have you chosen this time?" adds Scott to get into the subject.

Hope was going to take the floor again but before she made any sign that she was going to answer, she saw out of the corner of her eye that Josie intended to answer so she didn't do anything and waited for her to do so, obviously because she didn't want to look like an obnoxious or conceited person in front of her.

"Open Arms by PRETTYMUCH" Josie responds and the moment she says the name of the group, Lizzie takes her hand in order that she doesn't say anything else, she is sure that Josie would give them the details of why they chose it and was better to keep it in surprise so that in a certain way, it would call more attention and that it would favor them.

"Well then, you can start." Emma says without losing her smile to maintain the peace of the atmosphere as best as possible, she knows that any negative expression in a certain way can affect the participants and she wants everyone to do their best.

They stand in a chorus position in front of the judges, Hope at an extreme and Rafael at the other making a kind of small crescent and this is how they all begin to do the vocal intro, so that they can also better appreciate how they were organized by registers and how they will move orderly without breaking the main figure when they sing their specific part.

(The acapella voices in most cases when the others in the group have a main part, are made by Raf, Lizzie and Mg, when one of the other members does not sing a main part, joins the acapella vocals).

Verse 1: Jed, when he begins to sing, takes a few small steps forward while everyone moves to the rhythm of the song in their places and then returns to their original position.

“I see you've been trying to make

Something out of nothing

But baby, I'm starting to face

The fact that you're out on the run (Oh, whoa)”

Pre-chorus: Mg, does the same as Jed did.

“Now you got me cuffed

And you ain't even know me

Caught me slippin' up

And now I need you on me

I just wanna touch

But I keep being turned away (Whoa)”

Chorus: Hope and _Josie_ , Hope takes a step forward-looking at the judges and accompanying herself with body expressions to give more emotion to the lyrics, while at the same time, Josie joins her by also performing movements for the end of her part, meeting Hope's gaze as both returns to their initial place.

“Girl you could tear me apart

But I can't help it, I'm waitin'

Here with open arms, oh

So when you're ready, you know where to find me

_ Got that key to your heart _

_ Scrape my knees on the pavement _

_ Here with open arms _

_ So when you're ready you know where to find me” _

Verse 2: Lizzie, also takes a few steps forward and returns to her place.

“So I've been waiting by my phone (Brrp)

For that ringtone

But you just don't know what to say

No, it's not like I'm asking for much (Whoa, oh)”

Pre-chorus: Rafael, does the same as Lizzie.

“Now you got me cuffed (Cuffed, cuffed)

And you ain't even know me

Caught me slipping up (Up, up)

And now I need you on me

I just wanna touch, yeah

But I keep being turned away (Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah)”

Chorus: Hope and _Josie_ , Already entered in the atmosphere of the song, Hope, who did not go unnoticed the look that Josie gave her, in the previous chorus, focuses on looking at Josie at the end of her part after having looked at the judges, Josie understands that body language and when she starts singing, she looks at Hope first and then she focuses on the judges and not be so obvious, and they return to their positions.

“Girl you could tear me apart

But I can't help it, I'm waitin'

Here with open arms, oh

So when you're ready, you know where to find me

_ Got that key to your heart _

_ Scrape my knees on the pavement _

_ Here with open arms _

_ So when you're ready you know where to find me” _

Bridge: Everyone, (Jed), **Hope** and _Josie_ , start to form an arrow inwards changing positions slowly as they sing the first part before Jed's solo, leaving Hope in the middle of Jed and Josie and the others closing the arrow, where they all share looks at each other, but Hope cannot avoid looking at Josie every time she has her solo, She feels that she is being a little obvious but she is so immersed in the song that she really doesn't care about anything else, she just wants Josie to understand her with every phrase she sings, she wants her to understand that she will be there for her in real life, or at least for the duration of their participation in the contest, which she really hopes will be quite long. Meanwhile, Josie with her closing phrase, also looks at Hope briefly in the eyes before closing them so she can emphasize her part, answer Hope and try not to be so obvious in case the judges start suspecting something, that they don't even know if there is or not.

“When you're ready, ready, ready

When you're ready, ready, ready

When you're ready, ready, ready

(Oh, you know where to find me)

When you're ready, ready, ready

**Yeah, you know where to find me**

When you're ready, ready, ready

When you're ready, ready, ready

(Girl, I've been waitin' by my phone)

When you're ready, ready, ready

**Waiting for your call**

When you're ready, ready, ready

(Waiting for you to come, my baby, oh)

When you're ready, ready, ready

**Baby let me know, yeah**

_ When you're ready, oh” _

Chorus: Hope, _Josie_ and (Mg), quickly while Hope and Josie finish the bridge, Mg changes places with Jed to the rhythm of the music and they all maintain the position of the bridge without breaking the formation but this time, Hope decides to focus more on the judges so as not to give more indications while she sings her part and Josie does the same, following Hope's dynamic.

“Girl, you could tear me apart

But I can't help it, I'm waitin' (Tear me apart, baby)

Here with open arms (Oh)

So when you're ready, you know where to find me

 _Got that key to your heart_ (Got that key to your heart)

_Scrape my knees on the pavement_

_Here with open arms_

_So when you're ready you know where to find me”_

Outro: Rafael

“You know where to find me”

They end the song, the judges applaud and they look at each other and keep their euphoria as controlled as possible to pay attention to the judges.

"Very good guys, I think you made a good choice of the song, it was also risky but it came out very well" said a smiling Emma.

"Considering the time you had to prepare it, that speaks volumes about you," adds Scott.

"I can feel the chemistry flowing between you and you create a good atmosphere." Emma complements the moment when Hope and Josie take a little look at each other when they hear that. Clearly the other kids didn't miss that, and their interaction during the song especially.

"So thank you for your presentation, we'll get back to you in a little while." Scott finishes and the kids thank him and start to return to the room.

On the way back to the room, Lizzie quickly pulls Josie aside, everyone notices but doesn't pay much attention to her and keeps walking a little further ahead than they do.

"What was that?" Lizzie asks, trying to stay as calm as possible but not quite succeeding.

"What are you talking about, Lizzie?” Josie blushes a little because she senses where the conversation is going but wants to look like she doesn't understand anything Lizzie is talking about while they are already in the room walking to a corner to talk.

"You know what I'm talking about, we all notice it, you and Hope, can't you be more obvious?”

"We were just singing like you, I don't understand what was different.” Josie said that she was already a little nervous again, looking at her hands and thinking that apparently she had not imagined that Hope was singing to her and she was answering her, that she was only creating stories in her head and she was getting her hopes up.

"Yes, of course, I know you, don't fool me, come on admit it" insisted Lizzie.

"Of course not Lizzie, leave it, besides, I could ask you the same thing with Mg, do you think I didn't notice?" Josie returned the question trying to deflect the issue.

"What? Oh, don't start," said Lizzie, a little surprised but acting confused as she walked away from Josie to rejoin the big group and end the conversation for now. While Josie did the same thing by going after her twin, with a half smile of satisfaction for having beaten Lizzie for now.

Hope, as she talked to the boys, couldn't help but notice Lizzie and Josie talking, the way they both got on, they were probably talking about the presentation but it could be about anything really, when she saw them approaching she looked away and continued to pay attention to the boys.

They talked for a while about how they had felt in general during the presentation until finally the judges came into the room after having seen the other groups and had some time to discuss who would go on to the next phase and the last one that would be there at Emma's house since after that, those who managed to advance would go to the live shows of the competition.

"Alright guys, we have already made the decision of who will advance to the next round, of the 10 groups that are here, only 8 will go to the next round and only 6 will go to the live shows." Emma was serious.

"We want to remind you in general, that no matter what happens here, don't stop pursuing your dreams because you are all definitely very talented, but you know that this time, being a competition, we can't advance you all, so keep fighting because you are doing very well." Scott complemented.

"The order in which you will be called has no relevance." Emma finished

"Well, that being the case, the groups advancing to the next round are... " Scott was saying one by one the groups that had advanced, there were only 2 places left and the Super Squad was up to its nerves, Hope could swear that Josie's eyes had started to water, she was not very well either, she could not leave her leg quiet, and the others were with similar nervous movements too.

"Together" and finally..." Hope believes that Lizzie is on the verge of a blackout as she lies on top of her sister almost closing her eyes. "Super Squad"

Now the one who almost fainted was Hope, she couldn't believe it, they had really done it, while she was stunned, the boys had raised them all to make a group hug in the middle of shouts and cheers where, just on her right side Josie had stayed and she felt how time stopped for a moment, she turned to look at her eyes with a smile and surprisingly found her gaze too, they stared at each other for a few seconds, Josie smiled at her too and then the two of them looked at each other again as they continued to jump in the middle of the group hug.

" Well done everyone, the groups that did not advance, tomorrow a bus will leave to take you back and as for the other groups, tomorrow we will talk briefly with each one so that you can start preparing your next performance, have a good night". Emma finished and Scott said goodbye with his hand and then left the room.

The groups began to go to their rooms a little more calmly because of the emotion and the conversations were in pairs or trios, Raf and Jed were already on the second floor while Mg and Lizzie were halfway up the stairs and Josie was behind them, she didn't want to interrupt their conversation, but suddenly she took a bad step and slipped backwards giving a little scream, almost a sigh and closing her eyes waiting for the blow when she felt some arms grabbing her from behind avoiding her hitting the stairs.

"Are you okay?" Hope looked at her worried as Josie opened her eyes again and found Hope's eyes standing still, feeling her blush like a tomato and not knowing what to say for a moment as Hope helped her to get up fully and stand next to her.

"I hope our conversations stop starting with that question sometime." Josie laughed shyly at the nerves of almost falling and hitting herself terribly and overcoming the blush that hung over her face she was barely aware that Hope had saved her.

"Well, as long as you don't seem like you' re in some kind of trouble that I can help with as soon as I look at you" - I said that out loud, oh my God, now she'll think I look at her all the time - said Hope blushing a little and looking now at the staircase they were up together.

"Thank you again for that." Josie smiled at her gently, ignoring the little nerves she felt in her stomach from the fact that Hope told her she used to look at her.

"Yes it's ok, we have to look after each other now if we want to achieve great things here," said Hope trying to look like she really cared about everyone and was not some kind of stalker who spent all her time looking at Josie.

"Oh, right." Now Josie was looking at the floor a little sad because she had become excited that Hope actually cared more about her and maybe it meant something.

Hope noticed how Josie's expression changed and wanted to ask what was going on now but didn't want to be too pushy, so she decided to give her space. They continued in silence to their room where Lizzie was ready to sleep, she gave them a curious look, which caused Hope some grace but she didn't say anything, Lizzie had only looked at them and continued in what she was, so Hope and Josie did the same.

"Good night"

"Good night"

Hope and Josie said at the same time just as they turned off the lights, laughed slightly, looked at each other smiling and finally went to bed happy thinking about what had happened in the competition and between them throughout the day without saying anything else.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't forget left a kudo and some comments pls :)


End file.
